Fragments and Bonds
by IwaKitsune
Summary: 'Though darkness seems eradicated, there are those who thrive to gain power, for every creature lusts for respect and authority.' Three heroes and three holders. Peaceful times always pass and troubles stir; Link muses this when Fi and Ghirahim return.
1. The Prophecy and the Curse

I don't know if I'll regret this, it's hard for me to finish multi-chapter stories... but anyway, here is the first part of this new one! I've been working on it for a while but I haven't written much yet- though the general idea is there.

I would really appreciate it if someone wants to beta-read the next parts- my beta-reader is out of question since she hasn't seen the end of Skyward Sword and my other friend who is beta-ing this doesn't know the characters...

Any help and opinions are welcome! Even flamers are as long as they give me some critic instead of 'lol dis sucks', even a 'this is anti-climactic' would be better than that :x

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own the characters or game they're based on/from, I do own the original/fan characters that appear. Disclaimers will only appear when necessary.

_Note:_ All Author Notes will appear before the actual chapter, and reviews may be answered at the end unless it bothers anyone (if it does please tell me!).

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Ah, visitors? I wasn't expecting anyone. Welcome then, feel free to take a sit or leave whenever you like.

I must ask, what brought you here?

Oh, a story you say? Funny thing, really.

The victors are the ones who write and tell the story.

Ha.

Let me tell you, then.

Everything started after the end, incredibly powerful beings fought against each other and only one came out victorious. Of course, it's not possible for such opposites to coexist without dueling, right. The power of the defeated one was sealed away, intended to be kept locked for unthinkable time. Left to collect dust, if you ask me. So unfair.

The victors started charting the land they had won, taking their sweet time to do so. There was no need to hurry and they did deserve a 'break', as some would say. But things hardly ever stay calm for long in this insane life we all lead. A creature appeared, ready to claim the sealed force, but he found an obstacle, and a peculiar one at that if I may add. However this barrier had a weak point the creature took advantage of and casted a curse on it.

This curse had opposite effects for certain creatures: the caster slowly sucked the sealed power, growing strong with each passing moment; the barrier slowly lost its purpose and the need to fulfill a mission stirred it; the sealed one grew weaker in a steady rate; the servant and guardian found his master in danger.

It was just a matter of time, really.

Hum... perhaps I'm going a bit too fast? Oh, forgive my mistake, I'll slow myself down. Where to start...? Ah of course.

**The Prophecy and the Curse.**

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><p>"Father, are you alright?" The plump owner of the Lumpy Pumpkin looked away from the glass and towel in his hands to meet the worried eyes of his daughter.<p>

"I sure am, Kina. Why?"

The young woman hugged the tray closer to her chest, brows creased with unease. "You look really distracted, ever since you came back from delivering Levias the offering..."

Pumm waved the towel in the air dismissively. "Yeah, don't worry about that, Levias said something before I left that got me thinking."

"What did he say?" Kina asked, raising a hand to her cheek.

"A warning about incoming dangers, I believe." He placed his hands on the counter, a deep seriousness evident in his voice. "His words were something like this: '_Though darkness seems eradicated, there are those who thrive to gain power, for every creature lusts for respect and authority. The curse will force the chosen young ones to face rising danger, helping and receiving aid from the wielders of each essence of the force, along with assistance from the most unexpected places._'"

"'Chosen young ones'?" Kina echoed, perplexed. "Maybe it's talking about Link? After all he was supposedly the chosen hero of the Goddess and did manage to discover what really was under the cloud barrier..." The older man simply shook his head.

"I wouldn't know, that's all I remember hearing and I didn't think about asking more."

"Maybe we'd tell Link whenever he comes around, or ask someone to relay the message." A costumer called for her from one of the tables with a raised hand and she rushed to attend him. "Coming!"

He rubbed his chin, contemplating things before sighing. No need to worry about that at the moment then, maybe it was just musing from the ancient Spirit.

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><p>Far below the Lumpy Pumpkin, at the edge of the Faron Woods was the Statue of the Goddess, sitting in front of theSealedTemple. The area was shadowed with the cloak of nighttime, thin moonlight beams broke through the clouds and fell on the white stone, giving it a soft glowing effect. The calm, peaceful silence of the area was disturbed yet not broken by the call of insects and the cracking of fire not far away, a pair of blonds chatting quietly near the burning branches and leaves.<p>

"You know you can't move them by yourself, Link." The young woman chastised gently, smiling as her companion gave a defeated sigh.

"... alright Zelda, tomorrow we'll have to ask Gorko to help us with those rocks." Link looked at the flames flickering, blue eyes catching the orange and yellow glow. "We could try to finish the rough map of the area too, I'm sure there's an area near the pond we haven't gone through yet."

"Sounds like a good idea!" Zelda agreed excitedly, entwining her fingers and leaning on her knees as she too stared at the fire. A few moment of silence fell between them before she looked at her friend from the corner of her eye. "What's wrong, Link?"

The one called stayed silent for a few moments before shaking his head; he turned to look at her, smiling wearily. "Nothing really, just thinking about... stuff."

Zelda leaned closer, turning completely to look at him. "Tell me the truth, what's bothering you?"

Link sighed and slumped lightly, feeling her wise eyes boring through his skull with mild worry. "It just feels strange, still does."

"You mean..." Zelda allowed the sentence drift through the air, knowing the answer when her friend sighed quietly once more. She reached to touch his hand, earning his attention and giving him an understanding smile. "It's normal to feel like that, you know? If you want, we can go in the morning to pay a visit, it's not like we're in a hurry right now. We've done quite a bit of progress in this area with the Kikwis' help."

He mirrored her smile. "Thank you, Zelda. This shouldn't affect me this much; it's been months since..." He grew quiet, turning his gaze toward the clouds. "I just need to go pay a visit, some weird gut feeling..."

"Very well then, we'll go in the morning or... you want to go now? It's close enough." The female's sky blue eyes stared at him, shinning with understanding and curiosity. "Want me to go with you or alone?"

Electric blue eyes returned the stare before nodding. "Better in the morning, as you said: We aren't in a hurry. And..." He looked at his hands, thinking for a moment. "You'd come if you want to."

Zelda hummed quietly before raising to her feet, smiling down at the chosen hero. "Alright, we should go to sleep if we want to get everything done tomorrow! There are many plans for just one day." She offered her hand to the chuckling male, helping him to his feet before he put out the fire and both walked toward the entrance at the base of the statue, using the sturdy stone as a guideline through the dim light.

Neither of them noticed a small creature standing on one of the pillar near the statue, and the creature itself didn't pay attention to them as it jumped to the stone floor below and passed through the doorway, reaching the entrance of the temple.

The soundless steps and a soft bell-like sound followed the figure as it walked through the structure, uncaring of the trees and the doors, the small platforms and the statue to the left. He had a clear goal in mind. And it was just ahead.

He pushed open the large doors, closing them behind him and focused his eyes on the pedestal.

"Unguarded, hmm? Those humans are too trusting." He purred quietly, stepping up the small staircase leading to the glowing blade with a confident smirk. "Make things too easy." He raised his arms, palms facing the sword, chanting something under his breath; waving his hands in slow, measured curves, he circled around it, the chime coming from his three drop-like earrings following his moves. A dark purple aura cracked from his palms and he grinned, lowering one of his longs arms to the floor and tracing a circle around the pedestal as he continued his spell.

The moment he closed the circle with his fingertip a smaller, second one appeared, the glowing intensified and it raised from the stone, floating a few inches above the ground before closing onto the glowing blade, stopping short as cracks of purple and white fought against each other- until the circle tightened more, breaking through the white barrier but avoiding touching the metal, keeping a small distance. The blade's glow seemed to flicker before returning to normal and both circles vanished from sight. The creature continued smirking, humming quietly. "_You who have been defeated, whose great power is coming to a waste; whenever you like it or not, I'm here to take your past place... that crown is mine to possess._"

He slashed at the air in front of him, a quiet ripping sound echoed through the closed room and he leaped forward, vanishing from that place and leaving the blade behind. Both blondes slept quietly in their makeshift rooms inside the statue, oblivious to the situation.


	2. The Rendezvous

A/N: Before I continue, there'll probably be hints of just about every pairing imaginable here since I'm a multishipper, but I haven't decided if any pairing is really going to appear here.

And update schedule isn't confirmed since homework will kill me and I can't promise to keep it :c

Two more things: I can't write Ghirahim ever gdi- and I fixed something in chapter one.

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><p>Want to know more? I can continue the story if you want me to, just try not to distract me, I want to keep as many details as possible.<p>

What's next...?

**The Rendezvous.**

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><p>He was floating, sailing seamlessly through the clear sky with the help of his great feathered guardian, smiling as the crimson Loftwing screeched, flapping his wings. Link closed his eyes, hugging the bird's middle with his thighs as they lazily drifted through the air. A quick flap of wings behind him made him turn to look over his shoulder, smile widening as he spotted Zelda and her azure bird reaching them, they exchanged grins before starting to playfully circle around each other, laughs silenced by the rush of wind.<p>

The birds suddenly cawed and moved their wings wildly, alarmed. Both riders clung to the long, feathered necks and whipped their heads around, trying to find the source of alarm as the Loftwings started ascending. The clouds started darkening and the feeling of déjà vu made them lock eyes in panic.

A deafening roar made them flinch and both looked back just as a strange black shape started to appear through the clouds. The Loftwings screeched and dove down the gray clouds as the creature released another loud cry, the blondes franticly trying to spot their chaser when the birds screeched again, trying to halt their descent as something zipped through the air in front of them.

"What's going on? !" Link gasped as the crimson bird flapped his wings harshly to stay afloat. There was no time for a reply as the clouds in front of them revealed the dark shape, still out of view but growing at an alarming rate-

A dark tornado stirred up from nowhere just before their location, cutting the creature's path and drowning the sound of its roar, though the sudden appearance of the tempest made both birds back away franticly. Blue electricity circled around the dark tornado, extending to the clouds around it, cracking slightly in the air a safe distance away from the birds and their riders.

"Link." He turned at the call, finding Zelda a few meters away from his location.

His vision darkened for a second and he saw a faint blue glow. The voice calling had a different pitch.

"Link."

He jumped as one of the blue snakes created by the electricity passed by him to the gray clouds behind, hearing a faint roar.

"_Li_nk!"

He felt something shake his shoulder.

And suddenly he sat upright on his bed, gasping erratically and gripping the sheets in slight panic. Link snapped his head up to find Zelda's eyes staring at him with concern and then relief as she sighed, retracting her hand and placing it against her chest as her eyes narrowed with worry. "Are you alright? I think you were having a nightmare..."

Link rubbed his forehead, feeling light-headed for a moment before switching to rub his eyes. A nightmare? Why would he have a nightmare like that...

"-ink? Answer me!" He jumped at the loud tone, realizing he had tuned out the other.

"S-sorry Zelda, yeah, I'm fine..." The hero shook his head, clearing the muddled mess it was.

"Was it a nightmare?" Zelda sat next to him on the bed, folding her hands on her lap and looking at him worriedly.

Link found no reason to lie. "I think it was... but it was weird, it started like a memory and then just went crazy." He rubbed his eyes again, sighing loudly.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No, thanks. I'm fine, just wasn't expecting that. What time is it?"

"Still a bit early, but we do have a lot planned for today; I wanted to wake you up to make sure you got ready on time." Zelda said, smile wavering. "I was going to wait a few minutes but then I heard you say something. I peeked in and woke you up when you started struggling."

Link sighed. "Well, we're awake now so we should get started..." Zelda giggled lightly and he opened his eyes to send her a confused look.

The blonde stifled her laughter and grinned, rising to her feet. "That's an indirect way to tell me to leave, isn't it?"

Link blinked. "What? No! I didn-" The rest of his answer was drowned by Zelda's laughter as she exited the room, closing the door behind her.

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><p>Few minutes passed before Link rejoined Zelda in their make-shift lobby, exiting the Statue after exchanging a nod. He seemed to hesitate for a moment when they stepped out, Zelda quickly turning to give him a curious look before smiling and taking his hand, pulling him toward the Sealed Temple.<p>

Around them the nearby forest was barely lightened by the quickly approaching sunlight, a thin light blue line in the horizon being the only tattle-tale sign of the incoming morning. Even in the still shadowed area, the faint rustling of leaves brought forth by the wild creatures was enough to make them feel safe, knowing they weren't the only ones out and about.

First things first, Zelda thought to herself as they rode the geyser's air current to reach the wooden platform that was once the track used by the Groosenator, but as soon as they stepped close to the gate, she froze.

"Something isn't right..." She mumbled, letting go of the other's hand to touch the stone doors when he let out a confused grunt. She took that as her cue to explain as she pushed the door open. "Something about the area feels weird, Link. Like... heavy, it isn't a good omen."

He stepped forward cautiously, eyes passing through the whole room in search of anything that could seem dangerous, the sound of Zelda's steps behind him steeling him to go forth. The main room was just as he remembered, as it had always been: The large, thick pillars holding up the tall roof, small and large platforms with stairs, a healthy tree on the area to the left, along with a bird statue next to one of the pillars. And the great stone doors on top of the largest platform.

Link stopped for a moment, looking at them wearily. No one dared go through them without his and Zelda's permission. That room was too important to let anyone in so easily. He felt the other's hand push him forward gently and he took a hesitant step. But what if someone hadn't cared about their permission?

"Link." She called softly, creasing her brows. "The energy isn't the same." The green-clad blond frowned before climbing the stairs and touching the stone.

"Let's see, then." And he pushed the doors open, bracing for a sudden attack, a projectile, a noise or movement out of place. Instead he felt a strange pressure, like a thick fog that suffocated him for a moment before he focused on the stone pedestal.

Or rather, the being resting against it.

He gasped loudly, taking a step back and almost crashing against Zelda as she mimicked his surprised reaction, both of them staring at the dark colored figure that was leaning against the blade, intricate white patterns on its body. In the form of diamonds.

"Y-you!" Link gapped in shock when the Spirit turned his head to look over his shoulder at the two blonds. "Why are you here? !"

The Spirit sneered at them before focusing again on something in front of him, out of the others' view. Tightening his arms around whatever it was, the dethroned Demon Lord huffed under his breath. "That's what I'd like to know. But little Miss Perfect won't respond."

"'Miss Perfect'? Who are you ta-" Zelda's question was cut short when a soft mumble came from the figure in front of Ghirahim, earning a slight growl from him before he sighed. Curiosity took the best from Link and he stepped closer to the Spirit, gasping when he caught a glimpse of crystal blue and purple curling on the other's arms; he resisted the urge to drop close to the Spirit and examine the smaller one when Ghirahim sent him a warning hiss.

"Fi!" He called, unsure of how to react to the Spirits' presence.

The smaller one opened her eyes drowsily, barely half-lidded before leaning closer to the darker one who glared at the hero. "_Madas... Mari madas..._"

Before Link could say anything else, Zelda ran toward the two Sword Spirits without a moment of hesitation, kneeling next to Ghirahim. She looked at the blue sprite, who looked smaller than she actually was in the other's arms. "Fi?" Raising her head, she met the aggressive glare of the black sprite with wide, confused and curious eyes, noticing the diamond in his chest had a pale orange line through it but was otherwise complete. "Ghirahim? How..."

The black sprite bared his sharp teeth at her, spitting his reply venomously. "That's what I'd like to know. Shouldn't _you_, great goddess, know about what's going on?"

"Dark magic..." Was a whisper that silenced the sprite as he allowed Fi shift in his arms. "Forced out."

Link approached them cautiously, preferring to stay standing next to them in order to have an easier reach for his sword -similar to the knight's one, with a sharper edge thanks to some stray goods and Gondo's help- if the situation called for it. "Dark magic? Why would someone use magic on a... on you?" He quickly corrected himself, disliking the way he had worded the question. She wasn't just a blade, she wasn't and isn't and never will be... he looked away from the exhausted blue sprite to examine the black one with a weary look. "Did you do anything to Fi?"

Ghirahim's glare could have drilled through both their skulls but he didn't move to either defensive or offensive positions. If looks couldn't kill then the venom in his voice would have. "And how, pray tell, could I do that if I was inside the blade too? This type of curse can only be casted from outside, foolish brat! You really do know nothing about the complex thread that is magic."

"A curse?"

Aggravated, the Demon Lord pointed at the faint circle on the floor that surrounded the sword's resting place. "See that? That's part of the needed ritual to do one."

"Energy..." Muttered the blue sprite as she tried to sit up on her own. She managed to slide off the other's hold and sit on the floor in front of the black sprite, slumping slightly and raised her head to look back at the blonde. "Energy extracting curse."

"It sucks out energy? Then why aren't you affected?" Link asked, concern turning into mistrust as he changed his gaze from one Spirit to the other. He received another angry huff.

"I already told you, boy. This kind of magic can't be done from inside the area you want to use it on!"

"Could you see who did this?" Zelda cut in, looking at the blue sprite that shook her head slowly. "Any idea of who'd want to do this?" This time, her sky blue eyes met the black sprite's white eyes.

In return, Ghirahim hissed under his breathe before looking away, deep in thought. "Someone who wants power. There are just about thousands of creatures that fit that description."

Zelda didn't seem affected by his sharp tongue or dripping sarcasm and venom. "But not all of them know how to use magic, much less dark one on this level." Ghirahim stayed silent for a while and she smiled slightly. "That makes the list much shorter, doesn't it?"

The Demon Lord didn't reply and instead took the blue sprite in his arms as she swayed in place unevenly, sighing as she once again curled on his lap like a small child.

"What happened to her...?" Link asked.

"The curse casted on the blade may have affected her; she said it was an energy curse so it's taking out her strength." Zelda replied before Ghirahim could snark back; however, she soon brought a hand to her chin, humming uneasily. "That would explain why she's affected and Ghirahim isn't but..."

"No one would try to revive the Demon King other than I." The black Spirit voiced. "Few demons look out for other's wellbeing, and the most loyal followers of my Master either died in that battle or vanished."

"If they aren't trying to revive him then why would they use this kind of spell..." The blond wondered out loud. When no answer came to his question, he looked down at the sprites, tilting his head curiously. "And why are you simply sitting, holding Fi, instead of I don't know- jump me down and bite out my throat in vengeance?"

"Oh, just enjoying the view. It's a lovely wall, you know? A few thousand years of leech make _wonders_ to stone rooms."

"Seriously?"

"_Of course not!_ Are you an idiot or only playing dumb?" Ghirahim snapped at him, gritting his teeth in frustration.

Link looked taken aback before switching to a more insulted expression. "Well, excuse me, mister! Enlighten me. Why are you doing nothing?" Zelda looked between the two of them as if they were playing a ping-pong match, interested.

"I can't move, happy?"

Blinking, the blond asked. "Why?"

"I have a bit of holy power in front-" He pointed at Fi. "-and behind me." He motioned at the sword. "I'm a demon, do the math."

"Oh."

A brief moment of hesitation later, Link reached forward to take the blue sprite from the other's arms, halting his moves as Fi wrapped her cloak around Ghirahim. The Demon Lord slowly untied her arms and Link lifted her, meeting some resistance and a mumble as he took her from her place.

A second later, Ghirahim grinned and snapped his fingers, disappearing in a cloud of red and black diamonds.

The blonds gaped at the place the black sprite had been before a groan distracted them. Looking at the one in the hero's arms, they noticed her irritation more by her slumping form than her face. Fi returned the hero's gaze before whispering. "_Madas_, you need to learn to think ahead... 67% chance Ghirahim left the area..."

"He escaped?"

"I can confirm with 95% accuracy the phrase 'left the area' could be translated to 'escaped'."

Zelda sighed, dragging her hand across her head and rubbing her temple. "This is bad."

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><p>The trio exited the Temple soon after the Demon's disappearance, with the green-clad blond carrying the sprite in his arms. They approached the large statue directly in front of the building and entered, quickly making a bee-line toward Zelda's room.<p>

Link placed Fi down on the bed's edge, tuning out the sprite's mumbling. The other blonde came close to the other two and examined the blue female. "How are you feeling, Fi?"

"...Tired." It took her a few moments to reply, looking away from them and inspecting the room curiously. The alcove was small and modest, with the bed, a small desk and the closet being the most prominent furniture, some decorative ornaments lingering on the walls and on top of the larger structures, with purple, pink, white and gold being the main coloration. "Otherwise, average condition..."

"That's good, I guess?" Link mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "You should rest for a while; can we do anything to make you feel comfortable?"

Fi shook her head, avoiding looking at either of them. "There's no need to do that, _Madas_. The accommodations are comfortable enough as they are and I do not want to become a burden- if you had plans for the day, please carry them on."

Zelda sighed, pouting slightly. "Can't we do anything?" Seeing the Spirit shake her head again, the blonde grimaced slightly. "...We won't be able to change your mind, right? If you need us, don't hesitate to call, we'll be close by."

"I appreciate the though, honorable Zelda..."

"Just call me 'Zelda', alright?" The blonde gave her a small smile, encouraging her to relax. The other just gave a small nod, not quite convinced. Zelda took Link's hand in her own and pulled him toward the entrance, calling over her shoulder. "Remember: If you need us just call!"

As soon as they were out of the room, Fi looked at the ceiling, deep in thought. "Call for you..."

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><p>Zelda continued dragging her old friend until they were outside the Statue, turning to look at his confused eyes.<p>

"Shouldn't we stay with her? What if she needs us and we're too far?"

Shaking her head, the female replied. "You can't feel it, can you? She's confused about something, and needs time to think. If we stay there she'll get distracted and pressured."

Quirking a brow, the hero echoed. "'Pressured'?"

"I have this feeling the thing she can't remember is something important. Maybe something that we need to know; if we stay there she'll have the need to transmit the information but she isn't sure what it was about." She explained, looking back at the entrance. "Forcing yourself to remember something can make it even harder to remember."

Link nodded, understanding her point as he turned to look at the entrance as well before chewing his lip. "She's too stubborn." He suddenly said, attracting Zelda's attention. "She won't ask for help... maybe we should try and get something done around here, at least one of us could go ask Gorko for assistance while the other finishes things around."

"Sounds like a plan! Your say?"

"I'll go get Gorko, there are still some Bokoblins around and going alone is dangerous."

"Implying I can't defend myself."

"You know what I mean by that!" Link chuckled as she gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder.

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><p>Far above the Sealed Grounds, inside one of the houses of Skyloft, a soft buzzing quickened ever so lightly. Opening his eye, he looked around the empty space quickly, noticing he was the only one in the house. No surprise on that.<p>

The buzzing shot up again and he straightened, looking out the window with surprise flashing in his eyes.


	3. Allies

A/N: I introduce an OC in this chapter, since I'm not sure my description is good enough here he is: http: / / 25 (dot) w w w (dot) com/tumblr_m1h31aSQyb1qil583o1_500 (dot) png

Shout out for **Laureen 'The Edge' Lycan **for being my first reviewer! Also to **Argen-Lobo-Ridder**! Reviews are always welcome, and critics are encouraged~

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><p>Well, well. I'm sure you have questions but any confusion will be cleared on time. For now simply sit back and listen, otherwise you wouldn't be here. Curiosity really is a strong thing, for good or for bad.<p>

**Allies.**

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><p>Skipping slightly, the blonde made her way across the area surrounding the Temple and the Statue, inspecting the sturdy wooden structure that once held the Groosenator and now was almost useless, damaged greatly by the events that had occurred. As strong as it was, it just wasn't meant to hold the entire gigantic rock that was the Isle of the Goddess.<p>

Zelda stopped walking and looked over her shoulder at the nearby forest, tilting her head curiously; allowing her eyes skim over the area, she pouted in confusion before shrugging and continuing her patrol.

Unnoticed by her, a small figure shot from the woods toward the Statue's entrance, bursting in hurriedly.

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><p>"I really can't thank you enough, Gorko!" Link grinned as the large Goron hopped from foot to foot excitedly.<p>

"Always a pleasure, bud! You've helped me, it's my turn!" Gorko said loudly, readjusting the straps of his backpack. "Just point the way!"

"This way." The blond led the way through the woods, looking over his shoulder to continue talking with the Goron. "Any luck with your research?"

"I found myself in a stump." He replied, closing his eyes and rubbing his chin. "Can't seem to find new info about those walls."

"You just need to look some more. Though they aren't that important and since we can't use them anymore... perhaps you could study other things." Link gave a small smile as Gorko started complaining about him trying to make him give up his research.

"You need more faith on me, bud!"

"Okay, okay! You win!" The blond chuckled, arms held up as a peace sign. "But don't you have enough information about them? What else could you find out about them that you haven't already?"

"I need to figure out the mechanism of their functioning! Is it a spell or a sort of entity the one that makes things appear? How many times can it be used before rendered completely useless and the average time of recovery it needs between uses? There're lots of mysteries surrounding those walls, bud!" Link smile widened as he heard the excited Goron continue babbling on, feelings slightly guilty for not telling him anything about Zelda's identity. She probably knew how the Goddess Walls worked- at the same time, he didn't think she would pay much attention to that.

Not long after, they reached a large clearing in the woods where large boulders and a small pond, covered with moss and small leaves, laid in wait. Approaching the rocks, Link patted one and Gorko took hold of it, lifting it with a small grunt.

"We need small stone blocks to do what we want but it'll be easier to take these back to the Sealed Temple back entrance and then break them there, alright?"

"Sure, I'll get right to it, bud! You need all of these?"

"If possible, yes. Thanks, Gorko."

"Right on it, it'll take a while to get all of them back but count on me." Nodding, the blond turned and rushed back toward the Sealed Grounds, knowing the Goron was able to defend himself easily if trouble arouse and would fulfill his promise. Following the trail, he allowed himself to relax with the sounds of the breeze and chirping of birds, along with the tapping of his boots against the rich soil and fallen leaves.

The whistle of air around him drowned the sounds of soft buzzing, which went unnoticed to him.

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><p>Looking over the cliff's edge, a creature hummed quietly, tapping one of his clawed fingers against the wooden cane in his hand. The creature was rather small. It had long arms, which ended in large, four-fingered hands, while its legs were short and its foot sported just two clawed fingers. Its long ears twitched slightly as the breeze made the three drop-like earrings hanging from his left ear chime softly. Its body was mostly gray, but its hands, feet and ear tips were closer to charcoal in color. Its skin was decorated with weird, pale grey marks around his hands, wrists, waist and neck. Strangely enough, it wore a mask on its head, and a pair of bracelets, the same gray hue, on its left ankle. Its head was crowned with a small pair of horns.<p>

Its brown-sclera and yellow-iris eyes drifted to the area behind it in time to see a tall -so much taller- figure. The small demon tilted its head at the other's appearance before digging the tip of the wooden staff on the ground to stand, a soft chime coming from the clicking earrings with the movement. "May I help you, sir?" It asked, with a deep and soothing voice that revealed it to be a male.

"Yes, you may start by explaining how long that curse's going to take to drain all the energy." Ghirahim grinned, snapping his fingers and changing back to his normal form, dark chocolate eyes gleaming eagerly.

The small demon smirked.

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><p>Link continued his way toward the Sealed Grounds, changing his sprint to a slight jog and looking at the surrounding woods, feeling a strange yet not unusual calmness. He should have expected it.<p>

Something- or rather, someone- slammed headfirst against his chest, making him tumble backwards and falling to the forest's floor along with his 'attacker'. He tensed and reached for his sword instinctively before recognizing the other as she groaned. "Zelda?"

Her eyes shot open and focused on him, relief and a small hint of panic flashing in the sky-blue irises. "Link, Fi disappeared!" He sputtered in disbelieve, scrambling to a sitting position and grabbing her by the shoulders.

"What? !"

"I couldn't find her in the Statue or the Temple or even around the Grounds, and I didn't hear anything either." She replied, trying to keep her voice level. "I have no clue where she could have gone to."

Rising to his feet, the blond helped his friend upright before taking her hand and rushing in the direction she had come from, talking between breathless pants. "Let's look around! There must be clues somewhere."

* * *

><p>Link sighed in frustration, tugging his hair as he walked out the Temple to meet Zelda, who was waiting for him leaning against the doorway of the Statue. She looked up at him as he jumped down the small ledge. "Any luck?" He shook his head in negative, running one hand through his blond locks irritably.<p>

"I don't get this- she wouldn't just leave without a reason. Where could she have gone?"

Zelda hummed quietly, rising a hand to cover her mouth as she thought. "It's strange... I can't really tell where she'd be by following her aura. Although now that I think about it..." Link looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. "I can sense an unknown aura around here but it's really weak. Whatever came by moved away really quickly."

He approached her, electric blue eyes sparkling eagerly. "Can you tell which direction?"

Zelda held a hand up as if to tell him to wait before closing her eyes and exhaling slowly, frowning slightly as she tried to pinpoint the way. Her hand changed direction and she pointed toward the woods. "That way, I believe... but I can't be quite sure which part of the forest." Her shoulders slumped in slight shame as she sighed before shaking her head quickly and turning to look at Link with determined eyes. "We need to start searching. Let's go!"

The hero nodded in agreement before sprinting toward the Sealed Temple, hearing Zelda's steps behind him.

* * *

><p>"I don't know how to return this favor; I truly appreciate your assistance... hope I didn't distract you from any important matter."<p>

"It's my pleasure to help Mistress Fi, bzzzt! I told you, I would drop anything to come to your aid. Not like I've been doing much lately either, dzaaat... Is this the right way, Mistress Fi, vrrrt?"

The Sword Spirit nodded in affirmation, taking advantage of their current altitude as they traveled above the Faron Woods. It was quite an interesting picture: The small cargo robot that had helped Link during his journey- Scrapper- was carrying Fi as they flied their way through the region, holding her bridal style as it was the easiest way to transport her- she didn't think she had enough energy to travel by herself and the eager robot had zipped through the sky in record time to come to her aid.

They continued quietly with the propeller's buzzing being the only sound as the woods opened under them to reveal deep chasms and a large structure some distance away.

"That's Skyview Temple." Fi said automatically, switching her position slightly to get a better look. ""At this rate, we should be able to reach it soon; I need to get to the back of it... however I don't want to tire you up too much..."

Scrapper tilted his head slightly before whirring cheerfully. "For you, I could go through the entire surface without rest, vrrt! Is there a place we can land at in the back? Else I'll be forced to stop at the front entrance."

"There's a spring, called Skyview Spring. There's plenty of room to descend to."

"Alright, vrr-CLANG! Next stop, the Skyview Spring!" With that, he quickened his pace.

* * *

><p>The blond duo continued walking through the woods, going through the trail that led to the Great Tree. Drifting their gaze around them quickly, they tried to find any clues about the whereabouts of the female sprite.<p>

Zelda stopped for a moment, seeing a small brown creature some distance away. "Look, Link! It's Machi! Maybe he saw something." She grinned as they ran toward the small forest dwelling creature.

Link called for the Kikwi. "Hey, Machi! Hold on a second!"

The Kikwi jumped into the air in surprise, releasing a high-pitched squeak before twirling around. "Oh, Link, Zelda! What can I help you with, kwee-koo?"

"Have you seen a... err, blue girl around?" Link asked quickly.

"Blue girl, kwee?" Machi tilted his head, tapping one of his short arms against his chest in curiosity. "Like that blue girl that was with you the first time we met? What had happened to her anyway, haven't seen her in a loooong time, koo-weep!"

"Yes, that girl, her name is Fi and..." Link hesitated for a moment before continuing. "She had to do something really important, but she came back unexpectedly and we found her but she didn't want our help because she was fine so we gave her some space to think while we did other stuff and then when we went back she had disappeared and we have no idea where she could be and it isn't like her to just vanish without a good reason without telling anyone, actually she would apologize if we ever got separated even if it wasn't her fault and-"

Zelda took that are her signal to cut the other's babbling as he started drifting to gibberish. "What Link is trying to say is, we are trying to find her and we want to know if you saw her around. Have you seen anything out of the ordinary lately?"

Machi looked at her, blinking. "I haven't seen anything weird! Things have been pretty quiet for a while, kwee. I think I heard some weird buzzing some time ago but it could have been a Deku Hornet."

Zelda sighed slowly as her friend groaned in frustration. "Okay then, thank you very much, Machi. If you do see anything unusual please tell us, alright?"

"Will do, koo-weep!"

The duo turned back toward the path they had gone through before, making their way toward the tree towering above all others. Link leaned his head back, gazing at the tall branches above them as he sighed. "Where did you go now..."

"We'll find her very soon, don't worry." Zelda reassured him, patting his arm.

"It just... isn't like her to d-"

"How adorable, the goddess and her hero taking a stroll through the woods." Echoed a sing-song voice that made them freeze in place and look around, trying to locate the source. A low chuckle helped them detect the right way and they looked at the large roots ahead, finding the demon lord sitting nonchalantly on the thick wood, holding his chin with his hand, elbow leaning against his knee and his other arm folded on his lap.

Ghirahim smirked slightly. "I'm quite curious, why would you travel so far from your safe haven? Did you lose something?"

Link glared at him, gritting his teeth and reaching for the handle of his sword as he stepped in front of his friend, shielding her against any attack the demon could send their way; frowning, Zelda met the white-clad male's teasing gaze with a mildly irritated one of her own. "Why would you even care about that? What do you want now?"

Ghirahim sighed dramatically, shaking his head and allowing the long bangs of his silvery-white hair swish around him before falling neatly over his left eye. "My, you're quite snappish lately, aren't you? Can't I spare a few minutes to simply carry on a conversation with you two without your thinking I've some sort of plan up my sleeve?" The stony silence that followed his melodramatic sentence was enough of an answer. "...Very well. I guess I'll pay a visit to the little blue pest, have fun."

He was about to snap his fingers when the green-clad blond jumped forward, staring at him in surprise. "Wait! You know where Fi is?" His shock turned to fury as he readied his stance. "What did you do to her? Speak!"

In return, the demon raised an eyebrow. "You don't? How distracted can you even _get_, Sky Child? Even now I can tell her energy is quite low, too much to get where she's at by herself." He sighed in disbelieve louder than necessary as if to mock the other. "How can you lose someone that can't move alone for long? It's as logical as running headfirst into a tree." Rolling his eyes, Ghirahim mumbled quietly. "I really wonder how you of all living beings were able to defeat me and seal my master."

Zelda stepped closer to the demon's sitting spot, biting her lip, troubled. "You know where she is, don't you?"

"Naturally. It's a basic instinct that I'm sure the Sky Child is familiar with." Link frowned at that, not quite sure about what the other was referring to. "Now shouldn't you be able to guide your chosen hero, little goddess?"

"I can't..." She whispered, lowering her eyes.

Ghirahim grinned. "Ah, is that so? Why, pray tell, wouldn't you be able to?"

Zelda shook her head, clasping her hands and giving a small, forced smile in the demon's direction. "That's something don't need to know about."

"Oh, but I'm curious!" He narrowed his eyes, trying to rill her up some more-

"I'm curious too!" Her cheerful words made the two males blink in surprise before she continued, smiling sweetly. "I wonder how good your ability to find things is! But maybe it's just talking since it did take you a very long time to find the second Gate of Time. What do you think, Link?"

The other blond caught on her idea and nodded in agreement as Ghirahim's mischievous eyes dull to barely controlled irritation. "You're right; it did take him forever to find it! He even asked for my help." Zelda gasped, though Link was able to tell the fakeness in it as he shook his head sadly. "I know."

"If you think your teasing and mockery will make me help you, you are so very wrong, little brats." Ghirahim hissed sharply, jumping to the forest floor and glaring darkly at the blonds who looked at each other uneasily. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to enrage the only one that knew where to look.

Zelda sighed and Link relaxed his stance slightly. "Okay, sorry. Seems like that plan won't work..."

"And?" The demon tapped his feet impatiently as the duo exchanged a look.

Link struggled to get the words out, mumbling through clenched teeth. "Can you... help... us find her?"

"What was that, Sky Child? I couldn't hear you."

Closing his eyes, the hero took a deep breath. "Can you help us find Fi?"

"Yes, I can." They looked at the demon with a mixture of weariness and hope, seeing him stand there without making a move. It took them a few moments before something clicked in the back of their heads.

"Err... _will_ you help us?"

Smirking, the demon crossed his arms and replied. "Now, why would I do that?" Both blonds groaned, Link throwing his arms in the air with clear frustration while Zelda hung her head, dragging a palm against her face.

* * *

><p>The Skyview Spring was a sight to admire. The tall, white structure that lead from the Temple to the area itself as well as the round platforms that formed a road that lead to the stone Goddess Statue gave an elegant sensation; a metallic, blue crest floated on a small rock platform in front of the Statue and further ahead from the last round platform. Clear, though shallow, water flowed around the area, making the platforms the only dry place; the small waterfalls around the back of the spring breaking the silence but adding to the peaceful atmosphere. A full grown tree stood tall to the left with its roots underwater and large, dark yellow fruits hanging from the branches.<p>

Tiny birds, strangely colored fish, fluttering butterflies and shining fairies moved lazily around the area in a relaxed state. A light buzzing startled the birds, causing them to take flight in order to escape the source.

Scrapper started lowering to one of the round platforms, setting Fi down to her feet gently. "Is this the right place, Mistress Fi?"

"Affirmative. Thank you, Scrapper."

"My pleasure, vzzt!" He buzzed cheerfully, twirling on the air before surveying the area. "What's this place, dzaat?"

Fi wobbled on her feet for a second before taking the first step, approaching the statue. "It's a sacred spring that was meant to help the goddess reawaken her memories and held messages intended for the chosen hero. It's a place with calming, healing and purifying qualities."

Scrapper followed her slowly, drifting his eyes around the area as the blue sprite crouched to her knees, tracing the water's surface with the edge of her cloak. "I see, brrm... Why would Mistress Fi need to get here, vrrt?" He looked at the Sword Spirit after almost a minute of not receiving an answer, whirring quietly in wonder. "Mistress Fi?"

"I hoped the blessed nature of the area would aid me in my remembrance."

"Remember, dzaat?"

"There's something important I just can't recall. It's actually troubling as it's something I require at the present time... however it could take a while before anything occurs and it would be better to concentrate solely on this task." She stood and looked at the small robot, expressionless mask still present. "Perhaps you could let me by myself for some minutes."

If the robot was insulted by being almost literally shooed away, he didn't show it and instead nodded eagerly. "If that's what Mistress Fi wants then I'll comply, vrr-CLANG! Call me if you require my assistance, vrrm."

"If it's possible for you to stay in the immediate area, or at least close to the surface, that would be a better option than returning to Skyloft."

"As you wish, Mistress Fi, vrrm! I'll go to patrol the front of the Temple, dzaaat!" Without another word, Scrapper ascended and floated above the white structure, disappearing from sight as Fi turned again toward the statue, staring at it blankly.


	4. Echoing

A/N: A-ah, not sure I'll be able to keep the Sunday/Monday schedule, homework is killing me slowly so I can't write as much as I wish (and would love some help with some characters cause I don't wanna make them OoC :c )

Shout outs for **Laureen Lycan **(glad to hear liked how Ghira came out! I'm still a bit worried about him |D;; ) , **Argen-Lobo-Ridder **(let the game begin~), **Kyogreperson **(my favorite legendary ohgod djkfhs) and **Annie Stardust**! Thanks for the follows and reviews, they're always welcome as well as critics! :3c

_Disclaimer:_ Lyrics are from 'Great Fairy Fountain- lyrics and vocals' by **adrisaurus** in youtube!

* * *

><p>Ah of course, before we carry on, I must remind you: things aren't always as they look like. Now hope you don't mind a short intermission.<p>

Maybe you're wondering about these three 'wielders' of the 'essences of the force'. I can assure you, you have met them... however I haven't mentioned the last of the 'chosen heroes'. Each hero and wielder has a small bit of each 'force', although only two are truly prominent, leaving the last one as a lesser or not quite as developed.

We can't forget the 'good side' isn't the only one that exists, actually... in my opinion, the 'good side' is nothing but a romantic fantasy. What makes a side 'the good side', if not the point where you're standing?

What seems like good reasons for one could be the worst excuse for another.

Ending that small pause there, shall we continue?

**Echoing.**

* * *

><p>The blond hero stalked his way angrily through the peaceful forest, a dark frown covering his usually carefree expression. Gritting his teeth, he huffed and raised his gaze toward the large tree with the Deku Hornet hive, or rather the tree stump behind it that lead to a shortcut across Deep Woods.<p>

"Don't be silly, Sky Child. I'll only take one of you with me and you're the nuisance that won't die even when a boulder falls on your head." He mimicked the demon's voice, circling the tree and climbing the fallen log. "Go on, we'll meet you there." His whining went quiet as a Bokoblin walked close to his location, most likely patrolling the area. His hand lingered above his sword's hilt, ready to counterattack if the other took notice of him; the red monster continued his way, grunting quietly as he walked further away.

Seeing no more immediate danger, Link jumped from his hiding spot and ran toward the other log that worked as a shortcut towards the Skyview Temple. Concentrating on getting there as soon as possible, be didn't survey the area and found himself stumbling back as a Deku Baba sprouted from the ground, snarling at him.

His shield was raised just in time to save him from the plant's sharp fangs and he unsheathed his blade, thrusting it forward and cutting the stem with practiced ease. With a sigh, he relaxed his posture and looked at the structure covered by vines, searching for the white-clad male and his friend.

"How did I agree to this..." He rolled his eyes at himself, huffing quietly and walking down the small dirt platforms.

* * *

><p>"Please help us!"<p>

"And why should I do that, little goddess? Both of you were the thorn on my side for far too long and you're the reason for basically all this situation."

"You weren't really helpful to us eit-"

"Wait Link, let's keep calm about this... I won't say we're sorry for doing that, it was our destiny and mission just as it was yours to revive Demise. But we're after the same goal right now."

"We are?"

"...I would love to know where you got that from, however the phrase 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' comes to mind and I do require Miss Perfect's assistance in something. And if I'm not wrong, which I'm not, she needs your aid too."

"Is she in danger?"

"You are quite fast to reach conclusions, boy. But no, at least not at the moment."

"If we're after the same thing then why not help us help her help you?"

"In other context that sentence wouldn't work at all, Zelda."

"It's understandable so shush!"

"You have a good point, maybe I should consider it... but helping the two of you after you broke down all my plans, all my careful scheming."

"You said it yourself, you need Fi and she needs us. Let's call it a truce for the final product?"

"And what exactly makes you think my goal is the same as yours?"

"As I said, you need Fi to be well for your current plan to work, otherwise you would have transported there minutes ago. You require our assistance too."

"My, you're much sharper than I gave you credit for! If you give me your word you won't interfere in my plan, I'll lend you a hand. Have we reached a deal?"

"Why would we trus-"

"Deal."

"What? !"

"Perfect then! She's further north from this location, in the Skyview Temple. I believe you remember our meeting there, no Sky Child?"

"...I didn't need to remember that, just get us there."

"Don't be silly, Sky Child. I'll only take one of you with me and you're the nuisance that won't die even when a boulder falls on your head. Go on, we'll meet you there."

"A-ah? !"

Snap.

"... u_gh."_

* * *

><p>The blond groaned at the memory, being careful not to activate any other Deku or Quadro Baba as he walked around the Temple's entrance. His frown suddenly turned into confusion as his ears perked up, picking a strange sound.<p>

A slight buzzing?

"Master Shortpants, vzzt?"

He twisted around to see the small cargo robot floating above the roof of the entrance, propeller swirling to keep him from touching the moss covered stone. His coloring contrasted so much with the temple and even the area around that Link couldn't believe he hadn't seen him.

"Scrapper?" When the blond said his name, the robot started lowering to the same altitude, keeping his hands clasped around something he had been examining earlier. Link blinked twice, confused. "What are you doing here?"

Scrapper's expression turned into one of annoyance as he sized the blond with displeasure clear in his features. He whirred with his usual disrespectful tone apparently saved solely for Link. "I could inquire the same to you, vrrm. Shouldn't you be somewhere else, doing unimportant, crazy and dangerous actions, dzz-CLANG?"

Link frowned at the reply, glaring mildly at the robot. "You know what, whatever. I don't care, just tell me: have you seen a blonde girl with a tall, white haired man?"

"Vrrm, blonde girl and tall man? Can't confirm I _saw_ them, but I did hear something walking into the temple not long ago, dzzzt." Link's heart leaped to his throat.

"Only that? No voices or anything?"

"I detected some sort of conversation, though it was quiet and short, vzzt." Scrapper replied after a moment of consideration, looking back at the hero with a curious glance. "Why are you asking, Master Shortpants?"

Resisting the urge to groan at the nickname, Link looked at the entrance of the Temple. "Got... separated from my friend thanks to a quite unhelpful guy. Though I was supposed to meet them here..."

"So, they left you behind, vzzt? I can't say that comes as a surprise for me, you don't consider much about other's wellbeing, like Mistress Fi's, vzz-CHONK!"

"Would you just st- wait, Fi? You saw her?" Barely able to keep himself from shaking the robot in that instant, the blond gapped at him before taking a step forward. "Where is she?"

Twirling cheerfully, Scrapper announced. "Affirmative, I came into contact with Mistress Fi a short time ago, vzz-CLANG! However..." He stopped to stare down at the other. "Mistress Fi mentioned needing time to herself, vzzt. I shouldn't inform you of her location."

Tugging at his hair, Link sighed through clenched teeth, taking a few moments to regain his calm before returning the stare. "And you simply allowed whoever came by earlier in without going to see who is was? They could be dangerous."

"Mistress Fi can communicate with me via telepathy, dzzt. If she's in danger I would know, and react accordingly, vrrm." Without uttering another word, Link spun on his feet and stalked toward the temple's entrance, making Scrapper buzz wildly. "Where do you think you're going, dzzt? !"

"To look for them. Anything could happen and I won't stay here and wait for the outcome without doing anything." He replied over his shoulder before starting his way down the stairs, determination bright in his eyes. Not much later, Scrapper huffed before following him inside.

* * *

><p>Deep within the structure, in the central room, Zelda and Ghirahim walked in silence, hearing their steps echo in the wide area. The blonde had to quicken her pace slightly to keep up with him due to his longer legs and almost hurried movement.<p>

They circled the large, dome-like structure in the middle of the room in order to reach the door that lead to the room at the very back of the temple and the connection between it and the spring. She was about to break the thick silence when a rogue Keese swooped down close to them, she suppressed a surprised squeak as it dived for her-

Before it was impaled and sent back into the wall with a black dagger. Silently, both the monster and dagger vanished in a cloud of purple smoke and red diamonds in time for her to turn and look at the one that threw the weapon.

Ghirahim lowered his arm and continued walking, his cape flowing behind him slowly. She rushed her pace some more to reach him, smiling. "Thank you for that, Ghirahim."

"Can't let you get killed by such a lowly creature, now, can I?" He huffed, eyes glued to the door across the chasm, with only a rope that worked as a way through. "The Sky Child would have had a fit, and in turn Miss Perfect would refuse to do anything for me. It's a vicious circle." He paused, humming quietly before looking back at her. "How long would it take you to get to the other side by yourself?"

"A Keese wouldn't be able to kill me so easily but... still, thanks; even if it was for your own gain too. And..." She grew silent for a moment, calculating. "Maybe two or three minutes." She gasped when the demon groaned and circled her middle with his arm, safely tucking her against his side.

"That's too long; it'll be easier if I take care of this." Before Zelda could ask what we meant by that, he crouched slightly and sprinted forward, extracting a shocked cry from the blonde as he leaped across the room effortlessly, landing on the other side with feline-like agility. He set her down and stretched to full height, looking at the large, golden door in front of them; without uttering another word or even waiting for her to recover, he approached it with a determined stride and pushed them open, holding it open for Zelda to enter before following after, doors closing loudly behind him.

The room they entered was circular, with tall ceiling and some sort of decorative symbol on the floor. They passed the room quickly, making their way toward the other door directly in front of them.

As the door closed behind them, the silence they had started getting used to was disturbed by chirps and slight splashes; Ghirahim lead the way confidently, gaze wandering around the area as if to try and memorize all the small details of the peaceful spring. Chocolate brown eyes focused on the blue and purple Spirit, who was kneeling on the furthest platform, closest to the crest and the statue.

He raised a hand in time to stop Zelda from breaking the white noise, earning a confused look from her. Rolling his eyes, he motioned toward Fi as she rose to her feet, head tilting back ever so slightly to stare at the statue's face. The sprite took a step forward. And another, and another.

Breathing slowly, Fi floated just above the water's surface, making small ridges break the clear mirror of water. Not long after, she bowed before leaning forth, raising one leg behind her gracefully and crossing it behind the other, using the move along with her arms to spin once. With little running start, she jumped on the air and, as soon as she touched the water's surface, she started skating, spinning and making sharp yet elegant turns mixed with graceful jumps.

"_She who I seek for aid, please answer my call._" Her voice echoed quietly around the area. "_My mission is at risk without your guidance, for the words meant to purify have been twisted with time and magic. I require your assistance in my moment of need, a way to follow is all I ask for..._"

Ghirahim looked away from the performing sprite when he felt someone tugging at his cape's edge, trying to attract his attention. Lowering his eyes, he met the blonde's sky blue ones before noticing her motioning him closer; quirking a brow, he leaned down just enough for her to whisper something on his ear. "Do you know what she is talking about...?"

He whispered back with a small shrug. "I have my suspicions; however we need more information before reaching conclusions. Do stay quiet though, these kind of things need patience and silence." She nodded back and both of them stepped closer to the pillars, trying to stay out of the sprite's line of vision to keep her from being distracted; both of them perked up as Fi continued skating slowly, circling the platforms and the statue as her voice carried around the area.

"_Do you see me in the distance, can you hear me plea assistance..._

_Send an angel, grant your power, save me in my darkest hour..._"

* * *

><p>Scrapper hummed quietly behind Link as he lead the way through the Skyview Temple, both of them feeling the thick, uncomfortable silence pressing down of them. The blond had one hand ready to take his blade at any moment, waiting for some danger to approach them, while the robot continued surveying the surrounding area to detect any monster before they reached them.<p>

"You know..." The robot blinked and looked down at the hero, who was attempting to break the silence. "I haven't heard much about you after you helped Zelda and I get some things down from Skyloft."

"Haven't done much either, vrrm. My assistance is not necessarily required most of the time, and I don't see the point in helping those that can do things themselves, dzzzt."

"So you do nothing all day long? Isn't that boring?"

"Shutting down is the best option when I'm not needed, avoids using energy and keeps me from losing my circuits without having a purpose, vrrm." Scrapper replied nonchalantly as they entered the room with the gigantic gap on the floor and the rope to cross it. "Why would you care, Master Shortpants?"

Link sighed to himself as he walked toward the rope, his frustration mostly directed to the tedious task of going though on it without losing his balance. "Just wondered. When I talked with Gondo some time ago he didn't say much about you so I grew curious I gu-GAH!" Link gasped as his feet slipped from under him, making him topple and almost fall if not for his hand shooting up to grasp the rope; giving a shaky sigh he tried to compose himself, pulling himself up again carefully. "Ugh, yeah that."

Scrapper didn't make a move to help him and instead floated ahead to wait for him to reach the other side. He examined the large door that blocked the way for a second before turning back to look at the small object on his hand; a green jewel, shaped like a diamond, gleamed on the light, contrasting and complementing the robot's coloring. The moment he heard Link step again on solid ground, sighing in relief, he put it away on a small compartment in his chest. "What are you waiting for, Master Shortpants? Move it!"

"Oh, shut up." Link opened the door, hearing the robot enter by floating above his head. Neither of them paid much attention to the door closing behind them as they passed the second one, entering the spring on the back.

"_In the pool, you softly slumber, what you're dreaming of I wonder. Hea-_"

"What's she saying?" The blond's voice drifted through the area quietly, yet in dissonance, breaking the sprite's concentration and attracting surprised and slightly irritated looks from Zelda and Ghirahim, respectively, as well as a low buzzing from Scrapper.

A splash made all of them turn back to look at the open area, seeing the blue and purple figure barely catching herself from falling completely into the shallow waters, though it did reach a bit below her knee. With wide eyes, she looked back at the other four in surprise. "S-since when have you been there?"

"Your power must be really weakened if you couldn't sense us." Commented the Demon Lord as Zelda shook her head and Scrapper hit Link's head slightly.

Fi slowly approached the closest platform, keeping her eyes low as she climbed onto the dry stone, a small puddle growing around her feet. She seemed to struggle for a moment before raising her head to see the group. "You shouldn't have seen that..."

"What was 'that'?" Link asked, brows arched in curiosity and biting back a hiss as Scrapper bonked the back of his head again.

"A ritual."

They turned to look at Ghirahim, finding him with an unexpectedly serious expression as he stared back at the blue sprite.

"Ritual...?" Zelda muttered.

"Why are you here?" Both Sword Spirits ignored Zelda's question, opting to peruse each other. Fi's monotonous voice continued cutting through the air with a warning edge to it. "You escaped."

"Such a sharp edged tone for a little servant." Ghirahim huffed back, strutting closer to the smaller sprite, his pacing cut by Scrapper as he whirred wildly, rushing to float in front of him.

"How dare you talk to Mistress Fi like that, vzz-CHONG!"

"Please stand down, Scrapper." The robot continued glaring at the Demon Lord before floating back, opening the way at Fi's request.

Once the robot was out of the way, Ghirahim advanced toward the other, who continued watching him in silence. "You should put a leash on that guardian dog of yours." He said, stopping barely a platform of distance from her.

The emotionless mask was betrayed by the low tone. "I suggest you quit being a disrespectful nuisance and stop circling the subject. What is your reason for being here?"

The Demon Lord smirked, raising a hand as if to reach and touch her. "You really want to get down to business. How can you go back to this state in such a short time..."

"And you keep skirting around the topic. Either answer or leave. I don't have the time or patience to deal with you as of right now." Both blonds blinked in shock at the usually mild, respectful Spirit's reply.

Ghirahim's grin widened. "Seems like spending time with me left a slight imprint in your attitude; not perfect anymore, are you?"

"It appears-" She started quietly. "My own personality affected you too; your level of patience has risen. However, that isn't the subject, you keep avoiding the topic." The silence that fell around the group seemed to press down on them.

Without another word, the blue and purple Spirit turned her head toward the statue, watching the crest bob on the air.

"Excuse me..." Everyone turned to look at Zelda as she spoke, unsure. "You said this was a ritual... with what purpose?"

"I apologize for ignoring your question, hono... Zelda." Fi answered, pausing for a moment to correct herself. "It's certainly a misfortune you now know of this, as I would have preferred this to be a guarded matter..."

"What happened, Fi?" Link asked, steeling himself for the worst.

"As you know, the Master Sword has been cursed by an unknown being using dark magic. Normally this kind of energy shouldn't affect it due to the blessed nature of the blade, however I can confirm with 95% accuracy whoever casted it knew a very advanced level of this art. As the curse wasn't placed specifically on the blade itself and was made to be slow and progressive, the protective barrier was skirted around.

While such a situation was foresaw by Her Grace after the forging of the blade, the guarding spirit- myself- was endowed with a counter spell that would be able to release the necessary energy to break any curse..."

"A back-up plan... why can't I remember that...?"

The sprite stayed quiet, considering her words. "You wouldn't be able to recall such spell, as it was a measure of little importance at the time. The chances of you saving that information for your next life to remember are close to 3%. It was my job to retain such data as I was the one meant to use it, but..."

"Something happened..."

She nodded. "The energy extracting curse wasn't the only one casted. A second spell was put on the blade." Fi lowered her eyes slightly before continuing. "I'm ashamed to admit that the second one was the one that forced Ghirahim and I out the blade and... apparently sealed part of my data base, rendering me unable to access them."

Link frowned, biting his lip uneasily. "So you can't remember certain things?"

"Correct. The caster really does have a dangerously high mastery of this magic if he was able to block specific subjects away."

"It's safe to assume one of these subjects was the counter spell?" Ghirahim peeped back, cocking his head to the side as the blue Spirit lowered her shoulders.

"Affirmative..."


	5. Think Things Through

A/N: Hmm saying this before starting the chapter, updates may be kinda slow because college is literally killing me, sorry about that :x

Reviews moved to the bottom so it's easier to answer things!

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><p>Quite a misfortune for the group, isn't it? Truthfully, the memory lose was not an expected side effect... ah well, not everything can be foreseen.<p>

Ah, we should continue, shall we? What's next...

**Think Things Through.**

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><p>"There must be something I can do about that!" Zelda insisted.<p>

Fi shook her head again. "Unfortunately, you can't. Unless you can recall the words or tune of the spell, every attempt will be futile."

"This is just perfect." Ghirahim huffed, glaring at nothing in particular. "If you can't remember what to do, we won't be able to act. And that song you just performed before the Sky Child interrupted didn't give a clue either."

Link raised his hand slowly, stuttering for a moment. "E-err... sorry? But I couldn't understand a word she said..."

The other four turned to look at him, three of them with surprised eyes before the robot spoke. "You didn't, Master Shortpants, vzzt?" The nickname extracted a loud snort from the Demon Lord and a choked giggle from the female blonde, as well as a slightly annoyed dead stare from Link.

"If I did I wouldn't have asked..."

Ghirahim recovered from his quiet chuckles, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Dear goddess, how stupid can you get, Sky Child? It wasn't that hard."

Link straightened his posture, insulted. "Hey! How was I supposed to understand if she was talking in another language or something like that?"

Zelda tilted her head, blinking curiously. "Another language? I heard it exactly like how we are talking right now..." Scrapper nodded in agreement before the blue sprite spoke.

"It would make sense for _Madas_ not to understand, as there's a 98% possibility of the song being in an ancient dialect. This dialect is deeply engraved in the memory of those that used it in the past, for instance the four of us can speak or decipher for different reasons. Zelda has the goddess' memories, Ghirahim and I were forged long ago and it is possible Scrapper was built during the time that dialect was still used or was programmed to understand it; it would be understandable for us to be familiar with it, unlike you, who didn't awake or even had memories of any sort of past life."

Link rubbed his neck, sighing. "The way you put it does make it believable."

Fi nodded, replying calmly. "It would seem as the only viable option, too."

"So zzrt... Master Shortpants couldn't understand Mistress Fi because she was talking in another language, vzzzt?" Scrapper peeped in, blinking in disbelieve and soon falling to an unamused expression. "If I could register emotions the same way humans do, I would pity you, dzzzat." Suddenly, he started swirling cheerfully. "Mistress Fi's singing is gorgeous, ZRRPT-FOOOSH!"

A grin tugged at the corners of the Demon Lord's lips. "My, you seem to have a little fa-"

"No." The blue sprite cut his sentence, looking at him with what he could tell was a glare. That only made his grin widen more.

"Ah, why? Don't like t-"

"This is my last warning, Ghirahim. If you don't stop I won't be responsible for what could occur."

"Is that a threat, my little Miss Perfect?"

"No, it's a promise."

Zelda clasped her hands the moment the Sword Spirits finished their exchange, attracting the attention of the group; when she was sure everyone had turned to look at her, she gave a small sigh and smiled. "Alright then, maybe we should concentrate more on the problem at hand instead of bickering with each other." The others nodded or shrugged in agreement before she continued, turning toward Fi. "Since the song didn't give us a clue- at least what we heard- can't you think of anything or anyone that could help us?"

"The song itself is from a time gone by, it would be extremely hard to find someone that could know about it- aside from the fact it was meant to be as secretive as possible..." She stopped, considering something for a moment before speaking again. "However, perhaps the guardians of the song have information that could aid us, as they did during _Madas_' quest..." She wobbled on her feet for a moment, shaking her head slowly. "I apologize, that's all the information I'm able to offer at the present time..."

The green-clad blond sidestepped closer to the sprite, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to keep her steady. "You really should rest; you always push yourself too much."

"I wonder where she got that habit from." Ghirahim muttered quietly, rolling his eyes and earning a slight glare from the blond. "Oh please, just tell me if it's a lie."

Zelda waved her finger in the air, pointing at the duo. "No bickering. Remember we need to work together. So... guardians of the song?"

"Maybe she's referring to Levias and the dragons?" Link added.

"It's possible! Who should we visit first?"

"The closest one is-"

"The oh-so-fair-and-gentle Water Dragon, Faron!" Ghirahim exclaimed, opening his arms and flourishing theatrically as if presenting someone. He straightened and shook his head. "It's quite surprising you didn't figure that one out earlier, little goddess. The region is named after her after all; she would be closer than the others."

Zelda pouted, crossing her arms stubbornly. "Maybe there is an order for them you know? As in, Faron knows the second part of the song instead of the first."

"And you think you can't fix the order once you have all the pieces, much like a puzzle? It would be useful to start by getting the closest thing and- if there IS an order- then we will know about it instead of going at random. You aren't very resourceful, are you?"

"Ghirahim, last chance..."

"Please, you can barely keep upright by yourself!" Ghirahim snapped at the blue sprite, who returned his infuriated stare with a serious one of her own. "What could you _do_ in that state?"

Fi huffed, irritation breaking through the emotionless mask, her tone low. "Want to find out?"

"Stop it, both of you!" Zelda exclaimed, immediately shushing both arguing sprites. A moment of tense silence fell on the group before the robot buzzed quietly.

"So, it's useless to stay here any longer, grrzt?" Scrapper bobbed in the air, looking at the blue sprite for confirmation. She simply nodded as an answer, causing him to hover closer to her. "We should go back to that Statue then, whizzt!"

"He's right, let's get going." Both Link and Scrapper were surprised as the Demon Lord strutted closer to them, effortlessly taking the blue sprite out of their reach and up in the air, earning an irritated glare from her. His smirk was infuriating. "Why the dagger eyes, my dear~?"

Her voice was slightly strained as she forced her tone to stay controlled. "You drain my patience at a dangerously high rate, let me down."

"Are you going to walk back by yourself?" His voice was both playful and taunting, delighted with the anger radiating from her.

Zelda cut their conversation again, sighing exasperatedly. "You too bicker like a pair of siblings or something- just for how long have you been interacting?"

Fi was the first one to reply, craning her neck to look at the blonde. "It's safe to assume a gargantuan time span has elapsed since _Madas_' battle in the past-" She flinched as Ghirahim drew her into a purposely painful hug, adding slight pressure to her diamond.

"Take some time off of that and that's about it, isn't it nice Miss Perfect?" He purred tauntingly, ignoring the loud, angry buzzing of the robot at his treatment of Fi. Finally, the sprite sighed in defeat and stopped struggling, huffing in the rib-breaking embrace.

"Quit it already..."

"How about no?"

Zelda rolled her eyes, a small smile grazing her lips. "Alright then, at least let her breath, Ghirahim." She turned toward the back entrance of the Temple, long blonde locks swirling around her in the air. "Let's go! It could take a while to get back on fo-"

"You do recall I can teleport, humm~?"

"Would you agree to assist us some more, Scrapper?"

"Sure would, Mistress Fi, vzzt. For you, anything, bzzat!"

"Could you take Zelda back to the Statue?"

Whirring in affirmation, the robot hovered closer to the blonde, easily lifting her off the ground and into the air. "I'll meet you back there, vzzzzt-CLANG!" Scrapper ignored the surprised squeak coming from Zelda as he lifted toward the sky, disappearing behind the hulking structure.

"Ready to go, Miss Perfect?" The Demon Lord asked quietly, already readying a hand to snap away.

Fi had to stop herself from whining. "Quit calling me that... are you coming, _Madas_?" Link blinked at the Spirits, confusion evident in his electric blue eyes.

"Fi, why do you keep calling me 'Madas'?" The blue sprite tilted her head slightly, surprised.

"If memory serves right, I've used your name correctly. 'Madas' is the translation of your name in the ancient dialect, the usage of it would be in vain during this era."

Ghirahim quirked a brow in disbelieve. "Just how much of your memory is sealed that you're unable to pronounce the Sky Child's name right?" Fi lowered her head, deep in thought.

"Link."

Both Sword Spirits looked back at the blonde, who smiled slightly before nodding. "It's 'Link', alright?"

"Understood, Link..." Fi said, speaking slowly as if to test how to mimic the pronunciation.

"Well, that's enough re-introductions! Time to go." Before either of the other two could say anything, the Demon snapped his fingers, disappearing in a cloud of diamonds along with the smaller sprite, leaving the blond in the spring.

He stood still for a second before sighing loudly, hunching. He should have seen that coming. Knowing it was the best- and only- course to follow, Link made his way toward the Temple once more, starting the way back to the Statue of the Goddess.

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><p>"Why would you leave him behind? It would be more efficient to have him come with us." Fi asked the moment they reappeared in front of the Sealed Temple.<p>

Ghirahim let her down on her feet, flicking his hair out of the way and crossing his arms, a wide grin taking over his features. "The Sky Child doesn't know I can teleport more than one with me, should be fun to see his reaction when he finds out that I'm able to do so. Watching him struggle is quite the entertainment!"

"I should be surprised but there was a 99% probability you would do that. According to my analysis and observation, you enjoy putting challenges in his path with great frequency and to the point of obsession."

"According to my finding, you enjoy numbers and calculation too much. What I do isn't good for _his_ health, but what you do isn't good for your own so you can't argue with me on this." He ignored the smaller sprite's glare, gesturing toward her with an elegant motion, his voice turning serious. "Now Fi, I need to have a talk with you. A very important one."

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><p>"So vzzt, your name is Zelda, right, whizzt?" The blonde hesitantly opened one eye to look up at the robot, avoiding peeking at the far off ground under them as she wasn't used to being at such an altitude without someone larger than her, or at least someone she was familiar with. Though she could tell he was more than capable of holding her safely.<p>

"I am... and you are Scrapper, if I remember correctly?" She continued the conversation to distract herself.

"Correct, zrrrbt. I required confirmation of that data, the only meeting we had before the present time didn't allow us much time to interact, not that I wished to do so. Mistress Fi said you were a very important person and you do have a strangely familiar aura; you don't look that impressive though, whizzt." Zelda didn't know if Scrapper was being rude on purpose or was simply being blunt, and in order to avoid any arguments from breaking between them she decided to switch the topic slightly.

"Looks can be deceiving; you're stronger than you seem to be." She paused for a moment, biting her lip. "I think I heard something about you... maybe Gondo and Link mentioned you when we were up in Skyloft some time ago."

"Master Gondo and Master Shortpants, dzzat?"

She had to swallow a giggle at the nickname. "Not sure why they said something about you, I think Link asked about how you were doing but I wasn't paying much attention really. Just curious, why do you keep calling Link 'Master Shortpants'?"

They started descending slowly as they neared the woods' edge and the location of the Statue. "Master Shortpants doesn't looks like a very impressive human, barely a child, dzzt! I was going to refuse assisting him as helping children isn't my priority, however Mistress Fi convinced me to aid him, whizzt. The nickname stuck though."

"You know, Link isn't really that young, but he's a little short compared with others so..."

"He's also reckless about what he does in order to 'help' others, dzzz." He lowered her to the ground gently, their location some distance to the right from the entrances of both the Temple and Statue. "Here we are, vrrt!"

Zelda stretched her numbing limbs, looking back at the small robot with a wide smile. "Thank you, Scrapper! Ah... Link puts himself in danger since he's dead set on finishing things, and they're usually get risky; he needs to work a bit on that but his intentions are noble on the very least." Shaking her head, she started toward the stone structures, looking over her shoulder at Scrapper. "Well then, let's go. Ghirahim's teleportation is a pretty fast transportation method!"

Hovering behind her, Scrapper buzzed, irritated. "I dislike that pompous creature, vzzzzat..."

Zelda smiled. "He's a bit of a handful." As they neared the front of the Temple, the silhouettes of the Sword Spirits caught their attention, half-hidden behind one of the tall stone pillars holding up the structure's entrance. From the distance she could tell they were talking about something serious, if Ghirahim's expression was anything to go by, though he grew quiet as the blue sprite replied something, subtly gesturing toward the duo closing in.

"Greetings again, Zelda, Scrapper." Fi said calmly when they were close enough, ignoring Ghirahim as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

The small robot zipped closer to the Spirit, hovering and twirling happily. "Mistress Fi! I hope I was of assistance, vrrrzzt! Can I do anything else for you, dzzzat?"

The blue sprite shook her head in negative, stopping for a moment to bow her head slightly in gratitude. "Not at the moment. I greatly appreciate your help, Scrapper."

Scrapper nodded in understanding, bobbing in the air with the gleeful air around him. "It was no problem, vrrrm! If you require me, don't hesitate to call, dzzzt!" He was about to turn toward the sky when he emitted a low buzz, twirling to look at the blue sprite. "Are you alright, Mistress Fi, vzzzt?"

Fi returned the stare with a slight confusion passing through her mask. "I can confirm an average- if a bit low- level in my energy and no injuries, in conclusion, I'm fine. Why would you ask?"

"Your mental waves feel erratic, vzzrrrt..." The worried look in the robot's features was quick to change to mistrust and anger as he swirled to face Ghirahim, whirring loudly. "What did you do to Mistress Fi, vzzzz-CHONK? !"

The Demon Lord rolled his eyes, raising a hand to his forehead and sighing melodramatically, though the irritation was very real. "Why is everyone trying to blame me for her state? I'm sick of repeating myself: I didn't do anything."

"Her state wasn't as fuzzy as it is now, you must have done something, dzzzzat!"

"I assure you Scrapper, Ghirahim isn't the source of any imperfections in my state, at the moment at least." Fi cut through their conversation, sensing Ghirahim's thinning patience. She continued with a calm tone. "You don't have to dwell too much into this, there's a 75% probability they're caused by the recent events involving Dark Magic." This seemed to pacify the robot and he backed down, quieting. "I appreciate your concern but it's not something needed at the moment, will I be able to count on you in the future?"

Scrapper seemed slightly disappointed as he looked back at Fi but nodded nonetheless, getting his cheerful air back. "Always will, dzzzrrt! Till next time, Mistress Fi, Miss Zelda, Annoying Pompous Creature, vrrr-CLANG!" Without another word, and leaving no time for the nickname to sink in, the robot took to the sky, quickly vanishing from sight as Fi forced Ghirahim's hand- wielding a dark dagger- down, keeping him from shooting it.

"That little fan of yours needs to learn to shut up before I scatter his circuits all over the surface and throw his empty carcass to the volcano." The Demon Lord hissed through clenched teeth, narrowing his eyes at the sky and making the knife disappear in a small puff of red diamonds.

"It's not in the Ancient Robot's programming to be either subtle or extremely polite." Fi explained slowly, drawing her cloak from Ghirahim's arm. "They're meant to be workers and will show respect to those of higher authority or those they deem as respect-worthy. Scrapper seems to have a preference for females and so shows more respect for them, as well as for older males that don't 'get in his way' or affect him or those he respects negatively."

With still narrowed eyes, he looked down at her, a shadow of barely held anger darkening his expression. "I hope you aren't naïve enough to not be able to see he fancies you, Miss Perfect."

"..."

Zelda chewed her lip, looking back and forth between the silent Sword Spirits. "Umm... excuse me?"

"What do you want?" Ghirahim snapped at her, patience almost nonexistent at the moment. Though he did take pleasure in the glare Fi sent his way.

Not taken aback by the harsh reply, the blonde continued. "You were talking about something before Scrapper and I came here..." This time, the blue sprite was the one to interrupt her.

"I apologize if my tone is disrespectful but the topic of our conversation is not something you need to know about."

Though surprised by the answer, Zelda nodded quickly and grew quiet for a moment. "Then... maybe you could tell me more about what happened while you were inside the blade? I'm really curious, you two grew pretty comfortable around each other it seems." True, she was trying to change the topic in order to avoid uncomfortable silence but she couldn't deny the question had been nagging at her all day.

Zelda had to bite back a smile as Ghirahim dropped his arm on the smaller Spirit's shoulders, smirking at her. "Now that's a subject we can babble on for long, isn't it?"

"I beg to differ; it was mostly me keeping you from wrecking havoc in the Realm and you being a nettlesome pest." She muttered back, almost able to sense his theatrical reaction before it happened.

Giving a fake gasp, the Demon Lord drew a hand to his chest, mocked-surprise and hurt bright in his dark brown eyes. "How can you say such a thing? After all we've been through..." After a few second of dramatic mourning, he raised his head again, smirking. "Oh you've become a liar, haven't you? You can't deny you enjoyed my company; after all, who wouldn't?"

Slapping at his upper arm, Fi sighed. "You are a bad influence and a narcissistic being."

"And you a robotic perfectionist, we needed to change that."

"I wasn't the only one affected though."

"But the one with the biggest changes is you, Miss Perfect~"

"..."

They both turned to look at Zelda as she released a choked laugh behind her hand, eyes shinning happily as she fought to stay quiet. "Sorry, it's just fun to see you arguing."

"It is, mostly because I keep beating her counters." Ghirahim chuckled at Fi's silence, both of them knowing he was right about that. This didn't keep her from sending a dark glare his way before turning her head away. The other two laughed at her reaction and she hummed lowly before turning toward the Temple's entrance, ready to pass through the still half-open doors. "Now, where are you going?" She heard the Demon Lord call, curiosity evident in his tone.

Without turning to look back at the duo, the sprite replied. "I need to make sure of an important matter. Please refrain from entering the Temple." Fi passed through the gate, closing the door behind her.

"What's she going to do?" Zelda asked, looking up at the white-clad male whose cape fluttered around him with the breeze.

Ghirahim tilted his head back slightly, narrowing his eyes with wonder. "I can't be quite sure about her intentions; however she wouldn't do anything without a reason. Only time will tell." He spun on his heels, facing her and smirking, allowing one hand fall on his hip. "I know you have more question- they're almost radiating from you. Perhaps we can entertain each other while we wait for our companions? It's not like we have much else to do at the moment."

"Is that so?" Zelda mumbled quietly, frowning in worry. "Didn't you have something important to do...?"

"Only time will tell." He repeated, raising his arms to rearrange his gloves. "And here I'll set limits. You can ask anything but I'll only answer what I feel like answering, and whenever I'm being sarcastic or lying is up to your ability to perceive it. Deal?"

"Seems like you enjoy making deals with me- but alright. Are you in our side or against us?"

Ghirahim chuckled under his breath. "As long as my goal is the same or close to yours I can confirm we are in 'the same team'."

"What's your goal?"

"That's something I'll keep for myself. You're quick to go to the point, aren't you?"

"Alright then... are Sword Spirit made of metal?"

Quirking a brow, the Demon Lord crossed his arms. "That's a pretty random question but yes."

Tilting her head to the side and entwining his hands behind her back, Zelda smiled at him, eyes bright with curiosity. "Is the metal light enough to let you float in water or do you sink?"

"...now you are just going to a strange tangent. My metal was made to be sturdy yet flexible; I admit it's heavy so I could assume it would be hard to stay afloat. However I haven't tested that theory as I haven't had a reason to. Why suddenly fascinated with that form, I know I'm captivating and intriguing but it seems slightly out of the blue, not that I complain."

"Just wondering, really. How did you get to Faron the first time and how are we going to get there now?"

"Curiosity can be dangerous, little goddess. How I got there the first time is not something you need to know, however it'd be possible to get inside her hall with magic... or the slower route: the back entrance."

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><p><em>Alright Review and Shout-out time!<em>

_Many thanks to **Argen-Lobo-Ridder **(I think I already replied to your questions? If not please remind me!), **Laureen Lycan **(Thanks a lot! Really glad to hear I'm making a good work with the characters; it's really fun to write Link, he's kinda easy for me! c: Also thanks for the advice, I'll fix the description), and **Mindless Plague** (asdjkhasd ohgod you flatter me so much ;A; Thank youuuu! Also interesting thing: I try to avoid having specific pairing in this story because I do like many of them (there may be later on BUT) and my danna (and beta-reader) described this as a morally correct/acceptable (can't remember that exact word) orgy, I almost choked. But really, I'm a multi-shipper so little hints everywhere are a must :3c)_

_Hope you liked it, reviews and critics are always welcome!  
><em>


	6. Untamed Anger

A/N: It's been forever and a day since I last updated this, I'm sorry but college is literally killing me so I can't promise another update soon :c

Also if you're reading _Sweet Nightmare, Bitter Dream_, I apologize but I've had technical difficulties (laptop erased what little I had) and lost motivation due to it, I'll get back to it maybe on vacations.

Nonetheless, I had fun writing this! Please do tell me if the characters are OoC since I haven't touched the game in a while so... enjoy!

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><p>My, you really are curious... I know I'm taking too much time explaining things but listen well... everyone has a story. And a story is such a fragile thing, ever-changing and endless, that it can be deeply affected by anyone... no, I'm being too strict in here: Anything can change everything, in such an ample display of probabilities that trying to count the possible results is a useless task.<p>

Perhaps in the future you will find what I just said to be particularly interesting.

**Untamed Anger.**

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><p>She heard the sound of her heels click against the stone floor, crystal blue eyes focused on the large doors on top of the stairs ahead. She moved silently, barely paying attention to the chatter held by the two outside the structure; the voices grew quiet as she neared the chamber in which the blade- her blade- rested.<p>

Her pace was measured as she approached the platform that held the weapon, kneeling at the top stair and staring at it. The steel had an ethereal glow around it, flickering ever so slightly once in a while. She frowned, raising a cloaked hand to touch the hilt, the tip of her cloak coming in contact with the blue diamond on it. She closed her eyes, whispering something under her breath.

* * *

><p>White expense. Water-like surface for a floor. It could change with a simple thought; it would change if so she wished. Not enough time.<p>

Silence met her ears and she stayed still. An enraged roar pierced the air. Sound of chains and shackles and furious shouts.

Strange.

Soft splashes as she moved toward the source. Quickly, quickly. Leaving white behind, she reached gray, darkening with every step. She saw him. Dark scales, red and black and roaring as he forced the chain uselessly.

She stopped. He glared.

No, no, this shouldn't happen-

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><p>"No, it's real I assure you."<p>

"It's hard to believe, that kind of crystal is really hard to find!"

"When you have someone as the Demon King as your master, there's no such thing as 'hard to obtain' when it comes to materials. Moving on?"

"Alright, let's see then..." Zelda hummed softly, raising a hand to her chin. "Not sure if you would answer this..."

"Shot away, it's not like you haven't receive such answers in the past few minutes or so."

Sky blue eyes opened to stare at the dark chocolate ones, seriousness hardening them to a point he found himself familiar- comfortable?- with. "When we first saw you today... back in your Spirit form." She stopped for a moment, chewing her lip as she organized her words under the other's strangely patient gaze. "The diamond in your chest had an orange line instead of being entirely red- like Fi's blue one. Why is that?"

A dark shadow covered his eyes for a moment before he broke eye contact, clenching a fist on his side. "I don't think the Sky Child told you _how_ he beat me and you weren't conscious at that time. I won't dwell in details but I'll let you know, the diamonds are not simple decoration for the Spirit form, they're a core." Crossing his arms, the Demon Lord pursed his lips, looking at the stone pillars. "Your chosen hero managed to... damage it greatly, and they don't heal easily by themselves; it took long before it was back to a more bearable state."

The blonde's frame tensed and she stared wide eyed at the white-clad male, realization hitting her swiftly. "So it's like a scar?" He nodded as a reply and she frowned. "You said it took time before coming to a 'bearable state', but now it's barely noticeable..."

"Some scars do fade with time, and I must highline this information again: What you felt as barely a few seconds when you crossed the Gate of Time back to this era was actually thousands of years. And the Realm inside the blade is extremely fickle with time." He rolled his eyes at her questioning gaze. "What could have felt like an eternity could have been just one second, and vice versa. It's not particularly clear how that works but perceiving time is not a task for everyone."

Zelda nodded, taking in all the information. Silence fell around them as they simply waited for something to happen, not quite feeling like continuing asking or answering things at the time. The Demon Lord leaned his head against the stone pillar directly behind him, closing his eyes and humming a tune to himself as the blonde pondered about their recent conversation.

She had managed to find out plenty of tidbits about the Demon Lord, all of them simple curious data without much meaning behind it other than being answers to whatever questions nagged at the back of her head. Ghirahim, however, was cunning and knew how to give the most complete yet vague answers, and he did have a voice tone that made it hard to differentiate between truth and teasing and lies and sarcasm, as if he had practiced how to do so millions of times.

But there was one thing he always refused to answer, and that was his reason for returning and needing their help.

The blonde was distracted from her thinking when the Demon Lord lolled his head to the side, looking at her from the corner of his eye. "Well, it seems you don't have more questions for me. It's only fair I ask now. What have you done so far in the surface?"

While she wasn't expecting the other's question, she smiled slightly. "We've been trying to map out the regions of the surface. So far we have the basics of Eldin Volcano and Lanayru Desert and we're quite far with Faron Woods." She sighed, looking at the clouds drifting slowly through the sky. "We were planning to go explore an area close to a pond in the woods but..."

"But we appeared." He finished the sentence, once again closing his eyes and humming under his breath. "Still, it's quite surprising you haven't finished this place. You've had a good quantity of time if calculations aren't erroneous."

Zelda pouted, turning away from him. "It's not like we were able to concentrate solely on that. The first weeks- maybe even a month- we were forced to go back to Skyloft because we needed things such as potions and steady rations and other basic things... besides, Link had to recover, he suffered some nasty injuries on that battle, and my Father wished to see me- and I did too." She grew quiet as the explanation left her lips, sky blue eyes becoming sober. "We needed a break, even if we wanted to continue..."

"Humans are fragile beings, little goddess." Ghirahim's voice drifted through the air again, deep and melodious. "They can push themselves past their limits but at doing so they suffer damages much too great for them. That's what makes them imperfect, as is true for all living beings." He smirked secretly at her surprised eyes, probably not believing such words came from him. Of course, he had to add something else- a clarifying note. "However, those rules don't apply to all living creatures, as is the case of my master and me. We have reached such a level we're practically perfect."

Zelda didn't know whenever to laugh or groan in disbelieve. She opted for the first option, barely managing to quiet her guffaws into incessant chuckles and giggles. "For a second I thought you were being poetic. I have to agree, except with that last sentence."

"Keep saying that, maybe you'll believe it." Ghirahim continued, raising his hand to pick at his gloves distractedly. "But still, taking so long to collect information of an area when you can reach the ruler of said area seems like a very counterproductive action. Why wouldn't you ask the dragons' about their provinces?"

"I..." Zelda hesitated, fidgeting with her hands. "We didn't really want to do that. I mean, we knew the dragons would be eager to help us if we asked but..." She sighed uneasily, dropping her arms to her sides. "We wanted to do this by ourselves, besides Eldin and Lanayru aren't exactly easy to reach. We thought getting the easy things out of the way would be better..."

"Easy isn't the best way. If you ever want to reach a goal, no matter how close or far it seems, you must be willed to shed sweat, blood and tears for it." Ghirahim muttered, displeased. "But even the most careful plans and hard work can be stomped to the ground in a second."

A tense, heavy silence fell on the duo. The Demon Lord silently seething in contained fury and the blonde stayed silent, too doubtful to try and break it, the feeling worsening at the angered aura that rolled from the other in waves. Both stayed quiet, knowing the best thing to do would be regaining their tranquility.

* * *

><p>Huffing and pushing low branches away, the green-clad blond stomped through the forest, cursing the sassy demon and robot for leaving him behind. He knew for a fact Scrapper could carry more weight without trouble, and it was the second time Ghirahim left him in the dust.<p>

His inner rant was shushed when a light chime rang behind him and he sighed, relaxing his tense posture with the familiar sound he hadn't heard in so long. He froze suddenly, eyes widening- the chime that always calmed his nerves came solely from the holy blade he wielded what felt an eternity ago.

Link spun on his heels, sword drawn from its sheath with a loud ring. Electric blue eyes scanned the area, searching for the source of the bell-like echo. "Who's there? Show yourself." His eyes pierced through the thick foliage some distance ahead when a low chuckle rumbled from it before a short figure leaped from the branches to the grass-covered ground, extracting a soft chime from the three golden earrings.

"Ah, my apologizes. I didn't mean to disturb you." The figure, who he could tell was male from the tone, smiled at him, tapping his sharp claws against the wooden surface of the cane calmly. The blond didn't lower his sword, wary of the creature. "My, please do stop pointing your blade at me; my intention is not to harm you, boy."

With mistrust bright in his eyes, Link tilted his sword to the side, keeping it at the ready. "Who or what are you? Why are you here?"

The creature chuckled through a smirk, leaning against the cane nonchalantly. "Curiosity, something that all living beings possess... Well boy, I have quite a few names imposed by others, not many of them being flattering, you know? However I'm known as Zyrca, and I'm a demon." Zyrca's eyes narrowed and his smirk stretched as the blond's eyes widened and his posture tensed. "And my motive... I seek for respect, something most other demons strip from me in every possible occasion." He sighed, shaking his head slowly. "I hoped traveling around this land would help me, but it seems patience will be crucial."

Link chewed his lip, studying the gray creature in front of him. Truth be told, Zyrca was anything but intimidating, with his small frame and calm nature. He couldn't help but feel sympathy, remembering the time his own nature made him the bullies' favorite targets; at the same time, he remembered Batreaux and the fact he was one of the most gentle beings he knew, even when he was once a demon. "I... guess I understand you a bit, Zyrca. My name's Link."

The dark eyes lifted to stare at him, a small smile half-obscured by the light colored mask. "A pleasure. You don't seem that worried about having a conversation with a demon."

Link shrugged in response, relaxing his shoulders and loosening the grip around the weapon's hilt slightly. "I know one that is anything but evil, so I can't just lump you into that category."

"Ahh... you are quite trusting..." Zyrca muttered under his breath, humming quietly. "Yes, pushing everyone in one category isn't the right thing; however you need to be careful with other demons. Some believe themselves to be above everyone else and won't hesitate to show their strength." Frowning slightly, he dug his sharp claws into the cane. "I reunited with one of such not long ago; he is quite a pompous creature with little patience for others and a thirst for what he believes belongs to him..."

Link perked up at the description, something clicking in his head. "A tall man, white jumpsuit with diamonds, short and pale hair?"

"Confident, slightly rude yet still gentlemanly, flossy. Yes, that's the one."

"Sounds like Ghirahim, he calls himself Demon Lord..." Link paused for a moment, pondering quietly before continuing. "You said you saw him some time ago?"

Zyrca nodded, earring clicking with the motion. "That's correct."

"Was that a simple coincidence or...?"

At the question, the small demon shook his head. "Ahh, boy, you're asking for information that should stay low, I believe. Just know that I saw him and that the two of us had an... _enlightening_ conversation, however it's not possible for me to share such information with you." He grinned, narrowing his eyes. "It's a teeny tiny secret he would no doubt be willing to murder anyone to keep it low; good thing I'm fast enough. I better take my leave before he finds me; it would be quite a nasty rendezvous. I'm sure this won't be our only meeting, until next time, Link." He suddenly took a step back, vanishing with a rustle of leaves as Link called out for him.

"Wait!" He strained his ears, yet all he could detect was the forest's sounds, no more rustling reached his location as if the demon had simply disappeared through thin air.

As he turned again in direction to the Sealed Grounds, he couldn't help but wonder about what the gray creature had said. His eyes widened and he gasped as he suddenly recalled- Ghirahim was with Zelda and Fi, in the Sealed Grounds.

* * *

><p>Adrenaline shot through his veins and he sprinted.<p>

Both of them turned to stare at the Temple's entrance, sensing more than hearing a disturbance. Without losing a beat, Ghirahim stalked toward the tall stone doors and pushed them open easily, Zelda tailing him close behind. They were greeted by the sight of the large, almost empty room, and the half-closed doors on the back of it.

Without much hesitation, Zelda ran toward the entrance, feeling a strange dread and guilt coming from inside the area. Their eyes quickly fell on the kneeling blue sprite that had her back to them; it didn't take long for Fi to perceive their presence in the room and she looked over her shoulder to stare at them.

Zelda's eyes widened when she saw the obvious guilt bright on the crystal blue eyes; Ghirahim froze barely a step behind the blonde, lips thinning into a straight line as he returned the stare.

Heavy silence slowly deafened them as they waited for someone to speak, to explain, to find the right words... A shuddering sigh cut through the thick air as Fi took her gaze from the duo at the entrance, the guilt intensifying.

"I'm sorry..." She muttered hesitantly, voice barely above a whisper as she refused to look at them. "I'm sorry... Ghirahim. I can't fulfill the promise..."

The Demon Lord snapped out of his trance, his expression changing so suddenly he may have as well taken off a mask. A shadow settled on his eyes, dark chocolate gaining a maddened spark as he gritted his teeth together. "For your own good, you better be kidding."

Zelda was struck speechless as the tall male snapped his fingers, clenching his hand around the hilt of the dagger he had summoned. The smaller sprite slowly shook her head, tilting it ever so slightly to look at his expression.

She saw dark eyes burning with ire.

_Clang!_ She raised her cloak with no time to spare to block the weapon hurled in her direction, the metal producing a high-pitched scrape that echoed in the silent room, followed by another snap of fingers and the swishing of knives hovering in mid air, aiming for her.

The Demon Lord snarled at the blue Spirit, she didn't move into offensive position, though she kept an arm up to defend against his assault.

"How dare you? !" Ghirahim howled as he commanded the daggers to strike their target, ears deaf to the shocked gasp behind him as he focused solely on the clanging brought by the attack.

"Analysis indicates this is the best course of action." Fi replied seriously, lowering her blockage slightly to look at him, her eyes emotionless as another snap cut through the air.

This time, the daggers swirled around the Demon as he hissed. "_Best course of action?_ Best for whom, blind servant? For the goddess that decided to leave you inside your own, personal prison after fulfilling your mission? For the gadfly chosen hero whom you had to guide through everything like a snotty brat? _For yourself, perhaps?_" Another snap and the daggers lined up, point-first toward the kneeling sprite who simply stared back at him, replying with a quiet, yet sure tone.

"You know nothing of what you said is true. I believed you knew more than that." He growled savagely, raising his hand and bringing his fingers together.

"Stop!" The cry froze him before he could command the knives forth, wrenching his infuriated eyes from the suddenly surprised ones of his counterpart, whipping his head to send a dark glare at the blonde.

"I advice you to mind you own business." He muttered venomously, keeping his voice low and leveled.

His eyes darkened as the sky blue ones returned the glare. "You were the one who brought me into the topic when you said I sealed Fi, so it is my business as well. And I can assure you whatever the matter is can be solved without trying to tear someone apart."

A thick silence fell on the group, as the Demon Lord and reincarnated goddess stared at each other, the blue sprite taking the opportunity to survey them closely as she rose to her feet, keeping her guard up. Analytical eyes narrowed slightly as a quiet chuckle drifted through the chamber.

"You talk too much and know too little." Ghirahim breathed through his low laughter, shadowing his face with his bangs. "This topic is not for some meddlesome child who thinks she's untouchable." Twitching his fingers erratically, he raised his head slightly to send her the darkest stare he could muster, voice so quiet it could have been a whisper. "I can't maim her in that form unless she leaves her weak point exposed anyway- and that isn't happening anytime soon. It's rather... infuriating. But you..." A maddened grin started to appear in his lips and the blue sprite jumped to action.

"Let her be, this is between the two of us and that's what we have decided." She spoke forcefully, staring at him with a cold seriousness that could freeze anyone in place.

"You say it so easily, as if it was just a game! A simple child-play!" A loud snap followed by the sound of daggers cutting through the air- soon to be bouncing off a glowing, light barrier and the seemly liquid-metal cloak. Ghirahim vanished in a cloud of diamonds, reappearing behind Fi and placing the cold metal of one last diamond-shaped dagger against her neck. He licked his lips greedily. "And you two tease me so... yearning for blood and both are immune to my attacks."

Fi remained unaffected. "You never did have patience for misfortunes." Her cold mask cracked again as the blonde shouted at the demon, effectively getting his attention.

"Ghirahim!"

And becoming a new target.

Grinning widely, the Demon Lord flicked his wrist in a second's notice, aiming for Zelda. Her eyes widened as the knife closed in, barely giving her enough time to raise her own shield, though it proved unnecessary.

_Clang!_

"What do you think you're doing? !" Lowering the Hylian Shield, Link glared at Ghirahim, eyes flashing wildly. "Let her go!"

The Demon Lord's grin remained in place, giving an unnerving feeling as he wrapped his arm around the petite sprite's shoulders. "You may be a pest but you really have the best and worst timing I've seen in my whole existence, Sky Child." With a snap, he vanished again. "Why don't we play now, my dear chew toy?" Link jumped to the side the moment he heard the swishing of a sword cutting through air, avoiding the downward thrust. Licking his lips, Ghirahim pulled his sword out of the stone floor as his cloak disintegrated, dark eyes shining with bloodlust. "You won't stand a chance against me, not with that piece of scrap metal!"

Ignoring his threats, Link readied into a battle stance, keeping his narrowed eyes on the other. "I knew I couldn't trust you, you're here just to get revenge."

Chuckling, Ghirahim raised his dark saber and pointed it in the other's direction, his crazed smile turning into a snarl and his voice taking a humorless tone. "I can't believe how thick you are, boy." Crouching low, he suddenly sprinted, swinging his blade. The blond performed a back flip to avoid the attack and raised his sword to block the next strike.

Ghirahim slashed at him again, extracting a loud ring as the two blades collided; he jumped back to regain distance between the two, amused eyes meeting with the serious ones of the hero. "You seem slower than before, Sky Child. Losing practice?" He taunted before snapping his fingers, disappearing and reappearing behind the blond and readying to slash at him; Link jumped back as the blade came down, hissing as the metal left a superficial cut on his arm.

The Demon Lord lifted the sword to his lips, lapping the red stains from the metal with a satisfied grin. His smile was soon to fade and he jumped back as an orange barrier encased the hero, who looked at the shield confusedly before spotting the blonde who had summoned it, also protected by it. With a sneer, Ghirahim parried the shield, growling angrily as his saber bounced off the surface harmlessly.

"There's a 97% chance your rage is blinding you, diminishing your perception of the various scenarios that could change the situation." The Demon Lord's eyes tore themselves from the hero's and turned to look at the cold, calculative ones of his foil. Fi continued with her robotic tone as Ghirahim whipped his blade forcefully to the side, glaring. "If you continue this course of action you'll merely waste time that could be invaluable."

Ghirahim growled to himself, stroking the hilt of his blade restlessly. "You expect me to simply stay put when everything gets more and more complicated? And you do nothing to stop this- just a bearer of bad news and no solutions."

Fi continued floating calmly, unaffected by the accusation. "It's only fair- you who bring chaos without a reason." She dodged the blade as the tall demon swiped it in her direction, hissing infuriately as he did so.

He stepped toward her agitatedly, fist tightening around his sword's hilt tightly, ignoring the suddenly thuds brought by the blond hero as he hit the shield in a vain attempt to break it, eyes flashing with panic and anger. "Without a reason? ! How can you say su-" Ghirahim's sentence was cut as he slashed again, only to find his blade deflected by the cloak, catching a glimpse of his foil as she used the momentum to spin around him and swiftly kicking the back of his knee, making him lose his balance.

For a moment, Link recognized that action. The same the Demon Lord used on him on that last battle.

Ghirahim took a step to regain his equilibrium and turned to glare at Fi as she spoke, her voice neither scolding nor teasing. "I suppose that's proof enough of how being enraged won't allow you perform at your best abilities." She dipped her head as she continued. "There's no reason for quarreling when our goal simply gets clearer and more urgent."

Without uttering a word, the Demon Lord allowed his blade disintegrate into black diamonds, silently agreeing to the end of their match with a nod of his own.

The blue sprite looked at Zelda, nodding to signal her to lower the barrier, setting Link free who immediately tensed as he studied the seemly relaxed stance of the taller male.

"If our goal is clear..." Zelda started, snapping Link's attention back to her. "Then where should we start?"

"The dragons and Levias are the only ones who could hold clues of the spell. It would be for the best to gather any information they withhold." Fi replied, looking away from the others to gaze at the sword on the pedestal. She stayed silent for a moment before continuing, turning toward them again with a chime. "Faron, the Water Dragon, should be able to aid us; it would be wise to visit her. However, the Master Sword is being targeted and leaving it here can be dangerous, at the same time it is holding back a seal and the removal of it can cause grave consequences."

Link chewed his bottom lip uneasily, tapping his fingers on the edge of his tunic. "We can't leave it but we can't stay..."

"I can keep it safe." The blond looked up at the petite sprite, slightly surprised with her offer. "Calculations show a low rate of immediate danger."

"I can talk with Faron." Zelda peeped in. "Why don't you and Link stay here and me and Ghirahim go see her?"

"Does seem like a good plan." Ghirahim spoke up, smirking as he strolled toward the blonde and placed one gloved hand on her shoulder while the other rose to his chest. "Shall we?"

Fi tensed almost unnoticeably. "Ha-." _Snap._ With a slight chime, she lowered her gaze, humming quietly. "The probabilities of this taking a troublesome turn are very high now..."

Link quirked a brow questioningly. "How so? With his teleporting ability and the fact that Zelda is Hylia, they should be back very soon."

"Correct, they should be able to return in a short time. But the chances of this occurring are of 17%." Seeing his still confused eyes, she continued explaining. "If memory serves right, Faron is able to hold a grudge easily; it's in the nature of some dragons to do anything possible to pay back damage done to them. Faron is one of these. And even when he seems to be either ignoring or forgetting this fact, Ghirahim did attack her during our quest." Link's eyes widened with realization.

"It would be for the best if you hurry, Link." He didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

><p><strong>Shoutouts and Reviews:<strong>

**Laureen Lycan **(Patience will reward you in time, can't quite tell you what's gonna happen, now can I? :3c sajdhsa ohgod you flatter me way too much ;A; Really happy you hear you enjoyed how I worked with the characters so far! Hopefully I'll continue that way, though I fear OoCness will happen soon... and the clash of interactions between this and last chapters ahahaha- still, the world needs so much more GhiraFi and I'm willed to DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER. SOON.), **Argen-Lobo-Ridder** (nothing is ever a secret anymore), aaaand **Shiranui117 **(why must your username remind me of one of my ships in KG ;; but hello there!).


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